Rochester Institute of Technology RIT Scholar Works Theses 4-20-1996 Implementation of computer technology for more efficient industrial design processes Kwang-Chul Ha Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.rit.edu/theses Recommended Citation Ha, Kwang-Chul, "Implementation of computer technology for more efficient industrial design ocesses"pr (1996). Thesis. Rochester Institute of Technology. Accessed from This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by RIT Scholar Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses by an authorized administrator of RIT Scholar Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The College of Imaging Arts and Sciences In Candidacy for the Degree of MASTER OF FINE ARTS Implementation of Computer Technology for More Efficient Industrial Design Processes by Kwang-Chul Ha Date : April 20, 1996 Approvals Adviser: Mr. Craig McArt Date: 5/2 Of /.,~ Associate Adviser: Mr. Douglas Cleminshaw Date: "'.S ~ ~ ~/-z.q Associate Adviser: Mr. Robert Keough Department Chairperson: Mr. James H. Sias Date: ~/% I, Kwang-Chul Ha , prefer to be contacted each time a request for production is made. I can be reached at the following address: 9202 Buxton Drive St. Louis, MO 63126 Date: April 20, 1996 Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. New Trend and Requirement for the Industrial Designers 2 3. Industrial Design as a Creative Tool 6 4. The Benefits of Implementation of CAID 8 A. Compressing the Product Development Cycle 9 B. Reducing Product Development Cost 13 C. Increasing Designer Productivity 14 5. What to Buy and How to Buy 16 A. Systematic Approach for Hardware 17 a.1. With Budget 17 a.2. Type of Processors 18 a.3. Testing 19 a.4. Sample Checklist 20 a.5. Hidden Costs 23 B. Systematic Approach for Modeling Software 24 b.1. Wire-frame System 24 b.2. Solid Modeling System 26 b.3. Surface Modeling System 28 b.4. Parametric Modeling System 29 6. Computer Presentation Techniques with 3D Models 32 A. Scene Description 32 a.1. Camera 33 a.2. Light Sources 33 a.3. Colors 33 B. Rendering 34 b.1. Shading 34 b.2. Ray Tracing 37 b.3. Texture Mapping 38 C. Animation 41 7. Rapid Prototyping 43 A. StereoLithography 45 B. Selective Laser Sintering 48 C. Automated Filament Extrusion 50 8. Reality check 51 9. Conclusion 53 Notes 55 Bibliography 57 1. Introduction As a design tool, Computer Aided Industrial Design(CAID) is being used in industry today more than ever. Almost everyone in the business today at least recognizes that the ever-improving power and sophistication of CAID can help compress the product development cycle, reduce the development costs, and increase designer creativity and productivity. There are, however, numerous systems available with different principles and applications, and it can be very time-consuming and extremely costly if the designers cannot find the right CAID system for the job at once. The purpose of this paper is to guide industrial designers on the implementation of various computer technologies and techniques in order to design more effectively and efficiently. 2. New Trends and Requirements for Industrial Designers In the 1990's, with competing products in every market segment - most produced with similar technologies, similar features and materials, and almost identical pricing - design may soon be the only element that differentiates one product from another. Industrial design is not merely a line function. Industrial design provides the essential link between engineering, manufacturing and the market place, and in essence, is the primary ingredient to present and future success. These trends, coupled with rapid development in information technology, create a far more important role for industrial designers. It is no longer enough for industrial designers to be artists or stylists. The new generation of industrial designers will manage information, understand business, markets, materials and processes, and participate as equal partners with other organizational elements on cross-functional product development teams as well. Being competitive as an industrial designer will require adaptability and a progressive attitude toward product development. Companies will have to time" reduce product development "cycle to quickly get a product from the drawing board to market. It will also be necessary to generate a continuous stream of new products that can target market niches for increased market penetration, market share, and company image. Designers and design firms will have to be adaptive to survive. Business has become more complex, requiring design that will satisfy a broad range of constituents from stockholders to customers. In response, the industrial design profession has evolved in sophistication. Designers today work in integrated, multi-disciplinary teams to bridge the gaps between marketing, engineering, and manufacturing, while they strive for creative approaches that will solve real needs. The result is both long-term and short-term business success. Industrial design is a prime example. Some design firms cling to the drafting board, rather than embrace the time and material saving capabilities of emerging computer technologies which can take new product specifications (ideas, concepts, numbers and formulas) and translate them into images on the computer screen in hours, rather than days or weeks. Designers today are utilizing such techniques as surface or solid modeling, photo-realistic rendering, and rapid prototyping to manipulate and present designs. This greatly helps clients to see what a product looks like before costly changes are made to the materials, dimensions, characteristics, or functionality. Using computers to speed the whole design process is critical to meeting the demands of drastically shortened product development cycles. For example, the product development cycle for new cars used to be 7 years; today it approaches 3 years. For small, uncomplicated products, companies used to have 2 to 4 years lead time; now they had better introduce those products in a year or less. If companies take longer than that, technology and marketing changes often make the product obsolete before it is introduced. Companies, therefore, need to stay in touch with customers - asking what they want, showing them the latest advancements and asking for feedback. Industrial designers are trained to question everything until the product design, production method, marketing, financial issues, and other product information make sense and until all elements work in unison. 3. Industrial Design as a Creative Tool Industrial designers provide visual communications and creative input for product concepts and ideas. Industrial designers help customers visualize how their businesses can grow through product development and design. They can be highly influential in establishing the use of a particular material, process, or product characteristic. Industrial designers do not limit their work to aesthetics or ergonomics of a product. They create the identity of the product, being intensely involved with the marketing analysis of the product and market. Working closely with design and application engineers, industrial designers identify the functionality of the product affecting both assembly and manufacturing. Designers are a creative asset in the product development process. Designers contribute visual communications skills and creative input that provide visual form (two-dimensional and three-dimensional) to concepts and verbally-expressed ideas, features and benefits. Product performance definitions and objectives are refined and communicated in visual form, providing product differentiation details for market competitiveness. The ability to share visual and technical data across disciplines via the computer encourages rapid product development. Therefore, designers should spend a great deal of time keeping up with the world, with an eye toward developing products that fit market niches, needs, and/or demands. The design team uses this expertise throughout the development process to concurrently direct the design of new products efficiently and effectively. Much of this is performed through the aid of highly sophisticated CAID software and hardware. Technologies like CAID, when applied to the product design development process, do not require or motivate a change of organizational structure. They do, however, enhance the flexibility of any type of organization. CAID makes any level of decentralization easier to implement, as it significantly improves the communications among contributors to the product development process. The organizations that fully implement CAID can more easily pursue alternative sources of conceptual design, engineering, and manufacturing. 4. The Benefits of Implementation of CAID Implementation of CAID varies from application to application, but the following benefits are universal : A. Compression of the Product Development Time Cycle B. Reduced Product Development Costs C. Increased Designer Productivity A. Compressing the Product Development Cycle Most CAID users find the benefit of speed the most visible and most rewarding. CAID can give the designers this speed by eliminating time- consuming processes and improving the quality of design by using 3D data throughout the product development cycle. Within the corporate environment, functional departments work less independently and more interdependently. The linear process of industrial baton" design, "passing